Goedenavond!

Hello from Amsterdam – undoubtedly one of Europe’s most hipster cities!

It had been quite a while since my last Amsterdam visit but I’m happy to report that I have already organised to go back again in June. I love it so much.

Some of the trip highlights were:

• Wandering around through De 9 Straatjes (the 9 streets) which are 9 gridded streets filled with boutiques and cafes. It’s hipster central and extremely difficult to avoid spending all your cash! http://de9straatjes.nl/en/home

• De Foodhallen – apparently this was an old tram depot which has recently been converted into an amazing warehouse-style food hall. Each stand offers food from around the world. It’s open for lunch but gets very busy in the evening as a lot of people come here to relax after work and socialise. http://www.foodhallen.nl/

• PLUK – is a cafe in De 9 Straatjes area which my friend found out about on a blog. We were in love with the design and the concept. It’s a two storey loft with so many delicious, healthy things on offer. We took the freshly pressed juice with an acai bowl packed with fruit. Such a good start to the day!  http://www.pluk9straatjes.nl/nl/Home

• Morgan & Mees – you know when you eat food and you will never, ever forget it? This is it. I cannot even describe in the English language how good their food was. I had an entree and a main AND desert plus many of their delicious speciality gins. ***Oh what a night*** This is a really incredible space – high ceilings, a fun vibe, great service and a menu in English if you don’t speak ze Dutch. Trust me, book a table!  http://morganandmees.com/

• SLA – was a great option for lunch. It’s the Dutch word for ‘salad’ or ‘leaves’ and there you can just about order any incredible type of salad. I had one which was colourful, interesting and memorable. Definitely not a boring salad bar 🙂 http://ilovesla.com/

• As an Australian, I’m normally pretty picky when it comes to coffee and part of the reason I love AMS so much is because they just ‘get’ the art of coffee. The best coffee for me was at Lot 61 – their coffee is strong and they understand the coffee culture. As I live in Germany, I’ve been complaining for many years that there just aren’t enough good coffee places besides Berlin. Luckily AMS is full of great flat-white options. Lot 61 (near the Foodhallen) not only had great coffee but the vibe was pumping and their chocolate chip cookies were insane. I’m still dreaming of that one which was still soft and gooey. Yum! http://lotsixtyonecoffee.com/

• We opted for brunch at an Australian run and owned cafe called “Little Collins” named after the famous street in Melbourne. I had the harisa yoghurt and buckwheat pancakes with swiss chard which was a meal to keep me feeling satisfied for the whole day!  http://www.littlecollins.nl/

There’s something about The Netherlands which I have always loved – perhaps it’s Dutch…. I speak German and English so for me, Dutch is an amazing mix of the two languages and there’s always been some sort of pull for me to go and learn the language. I haven’t really made much of a move yet because I guess I can’t really use the language outside of Belgium/NL and South Africa. That’s why I’m focusing more on Spanish as my third language. I do really love the sound of Dutch though. Additionally, Dutch people speak fantastic English. I’d say it’s near native and the best in Europe next to those Scandinavians.